Spring-impulse engine starter



Aug. 29, 1961 Filed Oct. 12, 1959 R. A. GLENN 2,997,997

SPRING-IMPULSE ENGINE STARTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3a 34 as 32 a 79 w 4 3/ 2/ 5/ 1 3 42 III I g 64 E 63 /a E 66 /8 9 i 6 7 24 K 1 4| k8 V I II II l lll\.| ll i /6 I l1 l2 l0 INVENTOR: lflCI-IAPQ) IX. GLENN ATTO NE) Aug. 29, 1961 R. A. GLENN 2,997,997

SPRINQ-IMPULSE ENGINE STARTER Filed Oct. 12, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pic. 2

INVENTOR gamma 1&- cuamm A 7' TORNEV United States Patent 2,997,997 SPRING-IMPULSE ENGINE STARTER Richard A. Glenn, Racine, Wis, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Peter Vakos, Racine, Wis. Filed Oct. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 845,803 6 Claims. (Cl. 123-179) This invention relates to a spring-impulse type of engine starter for use on small engines such as those employed on lawn mowers, outboard motors, garden implements and the like.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved spring-impulse type of starter for the small gasoline engines.

More specific objects of this invention include the features of providing a spring-impulse type of starter, which is reliable and sturdy but yet inexpensive in its manufacture and which is simple to operate including the feature that an operator cannot mistakenly abuse or misuse the starter to damage the same.

A still more specific object of this invention is to provide an engine starter which utilizes the crank handle in releasing the energy of the spring, and which further does not rotate the crank handle, nor require that the handle be otherwise disengaged so that it will not rotate when the spring is released.

Still another specific object of this invention is to provide a spring-impulse type of starter which completes the engagement between the starter and the engine crankshaft before the energy of the spring is released to rotate the engine crankshaft. In accomplishing this particular object, the full impact of the spring is thus not applied to the connecting mechanism between the starter and the engine crankshaft and the result is that the mechanism is not subjected to the impact otherwise available if the spring energy is released prior to the engagement of the mechanism mentioned.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken substantially across the starter and which may be oriented along line 11 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the starter shown in FIG. 1, but with certain interior parts removed.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the starter, shaft, spring and housing and the like shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 indicates a gasoline engine housing and its usual crankshaft 11 and the housing 10 has an opening 12 therein, which is shown to be aligned with the crankshaft 11. The shaft 11 has a cup 13 secured thereto by a nut 14, and it will also be understood that the cup 13 has teeth 16 disposed around the interior of the cup as shown, and for the purpose of engaging a pawl 17, which is attached as a part of the starter in a manner described hereinafter.

The starter is shown to include legs 18 which are secured to the housing 10 by means of bolts 19 and the legs 18 support the starter housing 21 in the position shown. The usual coil spring of the spiral type is indicated at 22 and disposed within the spring housing 23 with the latter being secured to the starter housing 21 by means of the screw 24. A starter shaft 26 is rotatably and axially movably mounted within the housing 21 and it includes a cross pin 27 and a second cross pin 28. The upper end of the shaft 26 is shown journaled within a sleeve or socket 29, which in turn is rotatably mounted in a circular bearing portion 31 of the starter housing 21.

It will be further seen that the upper end of the member 29 is threaded at 32 to engage a nut 33, which clamps a first portion 34 of a handle 36 onto the shaft 26 so that the handle 36 and shaft 26 are secured for rotation together as one unit.

At this time it will also be noticed that the handle 36 includes the portion 34 and a second portion 37, which is hinged with respect to the portion 34 by means of a cross pin 38. Thus it will be understood that the handle 36 is pivotal approximately degrees above the hinge pin 38 from the position shown in FIG. 1 to a position where the handle portion 37 is aligned with the portion 34 and thus off to the left of the portion 34 as viewed in FIG. 1. In this position the handle 36 is utilized as a crank handle as the operator rotates the handle 36 to rotate the shaft 26 and thus wind the spring 22. With the handle in the position shown in FIG. 1, it is ready and available for releasing the energy of the spring 22 through the mechanism and in the manner described hereinafter. This arrangement of handle thus enables the latter to become both a crank handle and a release mechanism with respect to the spring 22.

At this time it will also be noticed that a flat spring 39 is disposed between the handle portion 34 and the housing bearing portion 31 to urge upwardly on the handle portion 34 and thus keep the entire assembly, including the socket or sleeve 29 in an upward position. Thus the lower end of the socket 29, which is the hub 41, is urged upwardly to the under surface of the housing bearing portion 31 to be maintained snug therewith. It will now also be noticed that the socket hub 41 is provided with ratchet teeth 42 around the circumference thereof, and the teeth 42 are engaged by a specially designed pawl 43. The pawl 43 is pivotally mounted on the housing 21 by means of the mounting member or housing boss 44 and the bolt 46, which secures the pawl on the circular boss 44 by means of the washer 47 which overlies the pawl '43. FIGS. 1 and 2 further show that the pawl 43 is provided with an elongated slot 48, which surrounds the housing boss 44 so that the pawl 43 is both pivotal on the boss 44 such that the end of the pawl engages the ratchet teeth 42 in the usual manner and so that the pawl 43 is movable in a direction transverse pivotal movement mentioned. The precise purpose of this double motion of the pawl 43 will be described hereinafter.

At this time it should also be noticed that a spring 49 has a central portion 51, which encircles the boss 44 and which extends between the washer 47 and the pawl 43 to urge the latter upwardly against the under surface of the housing 21, and thus maintain the pawl 43 in the desired position shown in FIG. 1. The spring 49 also has an end 52 which extends to one side of the pawl 43 to urge the latter in a pivotal direction toward the ratchet 41, and the spring 49 has another end 53, which extends from the central portion 51 to the inner wall of the housing 21 to thereby place the desired tension in the spring 49 so that the latter can urge the pawl toward the ratchet as described.

Still another feature of the construction with respect to the pawl 43 is the provision of a pocket or boss 54 which is cast as a part of the housing 21 and which has a recess 56 for receiving the circular portion of the pawl 43 as best shown in FIG. 2. In this manner the amount of displacement of the pawl 43 in the direction tangential to the ratchet 41 is limited in one way by means of the boss 54 as the pawl 43 abuts the pocket or recess 56 in the boss 54.

The socket or sleeve 29 also has two diametrical slots 57 located in the lower end of the hub 41 so that either one of the slots 57 receives the pin 27 to rotatably connect the socket 29 and the shaft 26.

With this arrangement as described in connectiQB with.

tthnstretain the shaft 26 from rota-ting.

a the upper end of the shaft 26, it will now be seen that through the operation of the pawl 43 and when the latter is engaged with the ratchet teeth 42, the sleeve or socket 29 is prevented from rotating and correspondingly the shaft 26 is prevented from rotating as the pin 27 engages the slot 57.

The lower end of the shaft 26 around the pin 28 is also jonrnaled in a socket or sleeve 58, and the latter has a diametrica-l slot 59, which receives the pin 28 to again rotatably connect the shaft 26 with the socket 58. Also the socket 58 has a cutout or recess 61 which drivingly engages a coiled end 62 of the spring 22 so that upon rotation of the shaft 26 and the socket 58, the coiled end 62 is engaged by the cut-out 61 to effect a driving rela tion between the socket 58 and the spring 22 and thereby permit the latter to be wound in the direction of the arrow indicated A in FIG. 3. A return compression spring 63 is provided between a lower end of the socket 58 and the lower end of the shaft 26 to urge the latter upwardly.

It will also be noticed that the socket 58 has an upper diametrical slot 64, which is available for receiving the pin 27 when the shaft 26 is depressed by the handle 36 for a purpose described hereinafter. It will thus be understood that the socket 58 is rotatably mounted in the spring housing 23 and a sleeve bearing 66 is provided as shown to facilitate the rotation of the socket 58.

The lower hub of the spring housing has teeth 67 disposed therearound, and the lower end of the socket 58 has amember 68 secured thereto by means of a bolt 69 threaded into the socket 58. Thus the member 68 rotates with the. rotation of the shaft 26, and the member 68 supports a pawl 17 which is pivotally secured to the member 68 by means of the pin 72. One end 73 of the pawl 17 engages the teeth 16 of the crankshaft cup when the pawl 17 is pivoted outwardly toward the teeth 16. This particular relation of course provides the drive connection between the starter and the engine crankshaft, It will further be noted that the pawl end 73 has a flat spring 74 attached thereto by means of a pin 76 at one end of the spring 74 while the other end of the spring extends to its free end where it terminates in a curvature 77 for engagement with. the housing teeth 67.

I With the structure described at this point, the operation of the device is such that upon rotating the crank handle, the shaft 26 is rotated to wind up the spring. In this particular maneuven'the pawl 43 engages the ratchet teeth 42 to prevent unwinding of the spring and preventing rotation of the shaft 26, and in doing so the pawl 43 is urged in a tangential direction with respect to theratchet and in the direction of rotation of the latter to thus move the pawl to the right as viewed in FIGS. 1 and- 2 as the elongated slot on the pawl provides for this movement. With the handle placed in the position shown in FIG. 1, it engages the top of the shaft 26 and further depressing the handle causes it to depress the shaft 26 until. the shaft pin 27 moves out of the slot 57 and thus release the socket or sleeve 58. Thus the spring 22 is freed to release its energy by uncoiling and rotating the socket 58, which in turn rotates the pawl 17 and the cup 13 and crankshaft 11 to crank the engine. In this action of releasing the cranking force on the handle 36, it'should be understood that the shaft 26, its pin 27 and'thesocket 29 will be free to reverse rotation in a slight degree to the extent that the pawl 43 will be displaced away from the ratchet 41 by virtue of the pawl slot 48. Of course, when the pawl 43 is displaced to where it engages the pocket 56, it will be held in a. stationary position and However, in this reverse rotation or lost motion movement as described, the: spring 74 is engaged with the teeth 67 to pivot the pawl 17' outwardly into engagement with the cup teeth 16., This particular engagement between pawl 17 and teeth 16 is thus accomplished prior to the time that the full energy of the spring 22- is released, and the advantage of this prior engagement should be obvious. Further, it

will be noted that the handle 36 is provided with two dimples or indentations 78 and 79, which engage one within the other when the handle portion 37 is fully depressed to depress the shaft 26. This provision of indentation 78 and 79 constitutes a latch which thus causes the handle portion 37 to be fully depressed by the operator and further, it holds the handle portion 37 downwardly in the desired position with respect to the lower handle portion 34 so that the shaft 26 is held out of engagement with respect to the stop or socket 29. Of course, when the engine commences firing and the crankshaft 11 is rotating under its own power, then the cup 13 overruns the pawl 17 to disengage the engine and the starter so that no part of the starter is then rotating. Also, with the arrangement of the parts involving the shaft 26 and the socket 29, it will be understood that when the handle 36 is depressed, the handle does not rotate and need not he further disengaged, but rather it. will remain in the stationary position as desired.

While a specific embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it should be obvious that certain changes could be made in the embodiment and the invention should therefore be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An engine starter of the spring-impulse type, comprising a housing mountable on an engine, a sleeve ro tatably mounted in said housing, a shaft rotatably and axially movably mounted in said sleeve and projecting therefrom in one end, a socket mounted in said housing and being rotatably connected to said sleeve in one limit of axial movement of said shaft, a spirally coiled spring disposed said housing with one end of said spring attached thereto and the other end of said spring engaged with said socket at the other end of said shaft, drive means engageable between said socket and the crankshaft of said engine, a stop attached to said housing and engaged with said sleeve for retaining the latter against rotation under the influence of said spring, and a foldable handle mounted on said sleeve for folding movement into a position of abutment with said one end of said shaft for axially displacing said shaft to the other limit of axial movement for releasing said socket from said sleeve.

2. An engine starter of the spring-impulse type, comprising a housing mountable on an engine, a sleeve rotatably mounted in said housing, a ratchet on said sleeve, said housing having a pocket therein and including a mounting member co-axial with said pocket, a pawl pivotally mounted in said housing on said mounting member adjacent said ratchet and in said pocket for engagement with and for pivotal movement toward and away from said ratchet and having an opening therein for being movable toward and away from said ratchet along a line transverse to the pivot of said pawl for creating a lost motion and for said pawl to abut the wall of said pocket in one dirertion of movement, a socket rotatably mounted in said housing axially aligned with said sleeve, a shaft axially movably mounted in said sleeve to be journaled thereby and to be retained rotatable with said sleeve. in one axial position and to be rotatable free of said sleeve when moved to another axial position, means on said sleeve and said socket for rotating them together in said one axial position of said shaft, a spirally coiled spring disposed in said housing with one end of said spring attached thereto and the other end of said spring engaged with said socket, drive means engageable between said shaft and the crankshaft of said engine and becoming so engaged in response to said lost motion, and a handle hingedly mounted on said sleeve for rotating the latter and for movement into a position of axially displacing said shaft to said another axial position for releasing said shaft from said sleeve.

' 3. In; a spring-impulse type of engine starter including a housing with a shaft rotatable therein and a spiral spring attached at one end to said housing and at the other end to a socket to be wound by the latter and with a crank handle for rotating said shaft which is connected to said socket which in turn is engageable with an engine crankshaft, the combination comprising a sleeve rotatably mounted in said housing for journaling one end of said shaft, ratchet teeth on said sleeve, a circular boss on said housing, a pawl pivotally mounted on said boss and having an elongated slot therein for sliding on said boss in a direction tangential to said ratchet teeth and being engageable therewith for restraining said sleeve and said shaft and said spring from rotating in a direction to unwind said spring, said housing having a pocket aligned with said tangential direction for the wall thereof to abut said pawl upon the latters movement away from said ratchet, yielding means mounted on said housing and engaged with said pawl for urging the latter against said ratchet teeth to cause said ratchet teeth to slide said pawl on said boss tangentially in the direction of winding said spring and to urge said pawl into engagement with said ratchet teeth when the winding force is released so said pawl can slide back in a lost motion movement, and means on said socket movable into driving engagement with said engine crankshaft in response to said lost motion movement.

4. An engine starter of the spring-impulse type, comprising a housing mountable on an engine, a socket in said housing, a shaft axially movably mounted in said socket and telescoped therein, a sleeve rotatably telescoped over said shaft and with an end of said shaft projecting from said sleeve, a handle including two hinged portions with one portion connected to said sleeve on a plane offset from said end of said shaft and with the other portion hingedly movable into abutment with said end of said shaft for depressing the latter, a spring for urging said shaft axially against the depressing force of said handle, a pin operatively interposed between said sleeve and said socket for transmitting rotation therebetween and being movable with respect to the axis of said shaft to be retained by said sleeve against rotation in one axial position and to be rotatable when moved to another axial position, a spirally coiled spring disposed in said housing with one end of said spring attached thereto and the other end of said spring engaged with said socket, drive means engageable between said shaft and the crankshaft of said engine, and a stop attached to said housing and engaged with said sleeve for retaining the latter against rotation under the influence of said spring.

5. An engine starter of the spring-impulse type, comprising a housing mountable on an engine, a shaft rotatably and axially movably mounted in said housing and projecting thereabove, a socket rotatably disposed in said housing and telescoped over a portion of said shaft and including a projection extending radially therefrom, a spirally coiled spring disposed in said housing with one end of said spring attached thereto and the other end of said spring engaged with said projection of said socket,

6 drive means engageable between said socket and the crankshaft of said engine, a sleeve telescoped over another portion of said shaft, a ratchet and pawl unit forming a stop connected on one side to said housing and connected on the other side with said sleeve for retaining the latter against rotation under the influence of said spring, a pin diametrically disposed through said sleeve and axially movable with respect thereto and engaged with said shaft for displacement upon axial movement of said shaft, a handle connected to said sleeve for rot-ating the latter, said handle being hinged for folding movement in abutment with the upper end of said shaft for axially displacing the latter, and latch means on said handle for securing the latter in a fully folded position.

6. An engine starter of the spring-impulse type, comprising a housing mountable on an engine, a sleeve r0- tatab ly disposed in said housing for rotation in a winding direction, a ratchet on said sleeve, a pawl pivotal y mounted on said housing adjacent said ratchet for pivotal movement toward and away from said ratchet and being spring urged toward said ratchet and associated therewith for creating a lost motion when said ratchet is rotated in the direction opposite to said winding direction, a shaft axially movably mounted in said sleeve to be journaled thereby and to be retained against rotation in one axial position and to be rotatable when moved to another axial position, a socket rotatably mounted in said housing co-axial with said sleeve for rotation with said shaft, said sleeve and said socket each having a slot therein, two spaced-apart pins diametrically projecting through said shaft and being respectively engaged in said slots, a spring disposed between said socket and said shaft for yieldingly urging said shaft toward said one axial position, a spirally coiled spring disposed in said housing with one end of said spring being attached thereto and the other end of said spring being engaged with said socket, drive means engageable between said socket and the crankshaft of said engine and becoming so engaged in response to said lost motion, and shaft engageable means movably mounted on said housing for movement into a position of axially displacing said shaft to said another axial position for releasing said shaft from said sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,064,132 Curtis June 10, 1913 1,144,410 Grose June 29, 1915 1,145,690 Knntson July 6, 1915 1,888,300 Vastano Nov. 22, 1932 2,042,841 Harmon June 2, 1936 2,875,851 Vakos Mar. 3, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 91,902 Sweden Apr. 1, 1938 

